Air pump



D. D. LOVITZ Dec. 8, 1970 AIR PUMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 15, 1969 Tw w 0 V L N 0 w A D a w K 0 mm 2% FIG. 9

ATTORNEY D. D. LOVITZ Dec. 8, 1970 AIR PUMP 3 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed April 15, 1969 IN V/SNI'OR.

DA VIP 0. OV/TZ ATTOQ/VE r D. D. LOVITZ Dec. 8, 1970 AIR PUMP Filed April 15, 1969 3 she ets sheet 5 FIG.

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ATTORNEY United States Patent O T 3,545,894 AIR PUMP David D. Lovitz, Short Hills, N.J., assignor to Sternco Industries, Inc., Harrison, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 15, 1969, Ser. No. 816,190 Int. Cl. F04b 35/04; F16k 15 14 US. Cl. 417-412 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A vibrator air pump comprising a bellows connected to a vibratory armature actuated by an AC. electromagnet and communicating with a valve housing and a diaphragm valve member operatively associated with respective inlet and outlet passageways, whereby alternate suction and pressure conditions are produced within the housing. The said diaphragm valve member is, in its preferred form, a thin flat disc having two spaced narrow flexible slotted portions constituting inlet and outlet valves, the suction within the housing pulling one of said slotted portions out of the plane of the disc towards the interior of the housing to draw in air from the inlet passageway, and the pressure within the housing forcing the other of the slotted portions out of said discs plane away from the interior of the housing to discharge air into the outlet passageway, whereby a continuous pumping action is produced.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to vibrator air pumps, and is particularly although not exclusively directed to air pumps adapted for use with home aquariums and the like.

THE KNOWN ART Air pumps for home aquariums and other air-receiving devices, especially those that do not require the delivery of large volumes of air, generally have delicate and comparatively complex valve members that cannot be repaired, removed and replaced by persons without special mechanical aptitudes or training. Moreover, to prevent the delicate valve mechanisms of such home devices from being accidentally damaged, or tampered with by unskilled persons, the components are either permanently secured together or connected by special fasteners, whereby the device must be brought to a repair shop, or entirely replaced when inoperative.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION It is the objective of this invention to provide an air pump of .the above-mentioned category having none of the aforesaid shortcomings, and being adapted to supply air to aquariums or other devices of this class continuously and efiiciently. More specifically, among the objects of this invention are the provision of an electrically operated air pump of the vibratory type (1) having valve means of extremely simple and inexpensive construction and which can readily be replaced by a person without special mechanical skills; (2) wherein the said valve means comprises a unitary member with both inlet and outlet ports and having no separate movable elements; (3) wherein said valve means serves both as a two-way valve and as a means to prevent leakage into and out of the valve housing; and (4) comprising interlocking components which can be assembled and disassembled without the use of bolts, screws or other fastening elements.

Other objects, features and advantages will appear from the drawings and the description hereinafter given.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the preferred embodiment illustrated and hereinafter specifically described, a pump assembly is employed con- 3,545,894 Patented Dec. 8, 1970 sisting of an AC. electromagnet operatively associated with a permanent magnet mounted on a pivotally supported armature, the latter being connected to bellows to give it a vibratory pumping action. The bellows member is mounted over a valve housing which comprises a cylindrical wall and a floor defining a pump chamber communicating with the bellows. Below said housing floor is a flat flexible diaphragm valve member, preferably made of a resilient membrane, resting on the underlying floor of the pump chassis, the diaphragmin the form of a thin disc in the embodiment illustratedbeing held pressed between both of said floors, thereby serving the auxiliary function of a gasket to prevent leakage.

Said diaphragm valve member has two spaced slotted portions, one constituting an inlet membrane valve and the other an outlet membrane valve. The housing floor has an inlet and an outlet aperture, and the chassis floor has correspondingly positioned inlet and outlet passageways. Normally, that is, when the pump is not operating, the diaphragm is in one plane, the arrangement being such that the inlet slot thereof is in alignment only with the inlet aperture of the valve housing and the outlet slot thereof is in alignment only with the outlet passageway of said chassis floor, the flat solid body portion of the diaphragm being in closing relation to both the intake and discharge conduits. When the device is in operation, the operative suction within the pump chamber will pull the inlet slotted portion of the diaphragm out of the plane thereof into the inlet aperture of the valve housing floor, whereby air is drawn through the now opened inlet passageway into the pump chamber, the suction holding the diaphragm valve in closing relation to the outlet passageway; and at the completion of the pumping cycle the pressure within the pump chamber will push the portion of the diaphragm adjacent the said inlet slotted portion thereof into its inlet closure position against the chassis floor, and at the same time will push the outlet slotted portion of the diaphragm out of its plane into the outlet passageway of the chassis floor, whereby air is operatively discharged from the pump.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vibrator air pump and base according to one form of this invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the assembly of FIG. 1, portions of certain of the components being broken away for clarity.

FIG. 2A is a bottom perspective view of the pump housing member.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the air pump of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a section of FIG. 3 taken along line 4-4.

FIG. 5 is a section of FIG. 3 taken along line 5-5.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional plan of FIG. 4 taken along line 66, the diaphragm valve being shown in its inoperative position.

FIG. 6a is a fragmentary view like FIG. 6, but showing the inlet port of the diaphragm valve in its open position, the section being taken along line 6a6a of FIG. 8.

FIG. 7 is a section of FIG. 4 taken substantially along line 77.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary portion of FIG. 4 showing the valve housing and chassis with the inlet port of the diaphragm valve open.

FIG. 9 is a view substantially like FIG. 8, but showing the outlet port of the diaphragm valve open.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary section of FIG. 8 taken substantially along line 1010.

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section of FIG. 9, taken substantially along line 1111.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal section taken substantially along line 12-12 of FIG. 1 showing the main pump assembly operatively positioned in the base.

3 FIG. 13 is a bottom view of FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The vibrator air pump illustrated in the drawing comprises a main assembly generally designated by the reference numeral 15 operatively positioned within the preferably flexible base 16. The said main pump assembly 15 comprises the chassis 17, the alternating current electromagnet 18, the hold-down spring clip 19 removably securing said electromagnet 18 to the chassis 17, the flexible diaphragm 20, preferably of thin elastic material, serving as a combination valve and gasket (in a manner to be fully described hereinbelow), the flanged valve housing 21 positioned upon said diaphragm, the locking ring 22 removably holding said housing 21 and diaphragm 29 in operative engagement on the said chassis 17, the rubber bellows 23 positioned over the upper portion of said valve housing 21 and in yieldable engagement therewith, the vibratory armature 24 operatively mounted over the upwardly extending dome 25 of said bellows 23, and

the permanent magnet 26 adhesively secured to the inner end wall 27 of the armature.

In the particular embodiment shown, the afore-said components are interlockingly engaged with adjacent componentswithout the use of any special fastening meanswhereby a firm assembled securement of the components can be effected by simple manual manipulation, and whereby a disassembly can similarly be readily manually effected. The said chassis 17 has at the opposite longitudinal ends thereof the lips 28 and 29 positioned and proportioned for interlocking engagement with the recessed transverse strips 30 and 31 of the base 16. The said base 16 has an air inlet aperture 32 in the floor 16a thereof, and legs 33 for providing a space below said floor, whereby air may be admitted through the said aperture 32 into the chamber 34 which underlies the said diaphragm valve member 20, so that air can be drawn into the valve housing 21 in a manner to be more fully hereinafter explained.

The said A.C. electromagnet 18 has its lower portion fitted into the recessed portion 35 of the chassis 17, the arms 36 and 37 of said spring clip 19 straddling said electromagnet, the respective fingers 38 and 39 of said arms being removably positioned within the respective cars 40 and 41 at opposite sides of the chassis, the arrangement being such that when said fingers 38 and 39 are operatively in place the resilient crossbar 42 at the top of said spring clip 39 is in yieldable engagement with the pole 43 of the said electromagnet 18, thereby yieldably holding said electromagnet in place. The said A.C. electromagnet 18 is of conventional construction, and hence need not be described in detail for the purpose of this specification. Suffice it to say that it contains the poles 43 and 44 and the coil 45 electrically connected to the conductors 46, whereby alternating current within the coil will cause changes in polarity of the poles 43 and 44. The arrangement is hence such that the said permanent magnet 26, in close spaced relation to said poles 43 and 44, will be caused to vibrate together with the armature 24 between positions indicated by the dot-dash lines in FIG. 4, to produce a pumping action of the bellows 23 as will more clearly hereinafter appear.

The said armature 24 contains the apertured portion 47 through which said dome 25 extends, said dome having the annular recess 48 interengaged with the wall defining said apertured portion 47, the conical portion 49 of said dome permitting the said armature 24 to be slid downwardly over the dome to elfect such engagement. The outer portion of said armature 24 contains the recessed portion 50, shown in this embodiment as of rectangular configuration, the outer Wall of said apertured portion 50 having a forwardly protruding rib 51 extending into the recessed portion 53 at the upper outer portion of the post 54 integral with and extending upwardly from the floor 55 of the chassis 17. The arrangement is hence such that the said armature 24 is pivotally connected to said post 54, whereby the operative vibratory motion of said armature 24 will be transmitted to the dome 25 of the bellows 23 to produce an up and down vibratory pumping action thereof. It will be further noted that the top stem 52 of the dome 25 is offset rearwardly with respect to the center line 56 of the bellows. The position of the apertured portion 47 of the armature is such as to cause this offset arrangement when it is connected to the bellows, whereby the dome 25 is bent in the direction of the said post 54. The dome 25 thus exerts a forward force on the armature 24 in the direction of arrow A, so that the rear pivotal end 57 of the armature 24 is yieldably maintained in engagement with the said recessed portion 53 of the said post 54, thereby not only permitting a positive vibratory action of said armature, but also permitting the armature to be yieldably disassembled from the post 54 when necessary.

The operative pumping action of the bellows 23 produces cycles of alternate suction and pressure in the pump chamber 58, whereby air will be operatively drawn into said chamber through said slotted diaphragm 20 and then expelled in an opposite direction therethrough into the discharge pipe 59 which is connected to an aquarium or other device intended to be used coactively with this pump. It is the construction of said diaphragm valve 20, in coactive engagement with said pump housing 21 and the underlying chassis floor 55, that permits the pumping action of this device to be etfectuated in accordance with the objectives of this invention. The said diaphragm member 20, shown in the form of a membranous disc made of rubber or other suitable resilient sheet material, contains two spaced air orifices in the form of slotted portions 60 and 61, the former constituting a membranous inlet valve and the latter a membranous outlet valve.

.While the particular illustrated embodiment shows the entire diaphragm member 20 made of flexible material, the device is operable if only the said slotted portions are of membranous sheet material capable of being bent out of their normally flat plane. The said diaphragm also contains two pilot holes 62 and 63 adapted for positioning over the pilot pins 64 and 65., respectively, extending upwardly from the floor 55 of the chassis 17. Said latter floor also has therein the inlet passageway 66 and the larger outlet passageway 67. The arrangement is such (see FIGS. 4, 6, 7, 8, 9) that when said diaphragm 20 is operatively positioned on the flat floor 55 of the chassis 17, with the pilot pins 64 and operatively extending through said respective pilot holes 62 and 63, the inlet slot 60 will be offset to the left of the inlet passageway 66, and the slot 61 will be positioned directly over the said outlet passageway 67. The construction of the said valve housing 21, and its position with respect to the diaphragm 20 and floor 55, are such as to enable the said diaphragm to function both as a valve device and also as a gasket.

Said housing 21 has the cylindrical wall 21a and the floor 69 containing the large inlet aperture 70 and the relatively small Outlet aperture 71, said floor 69 extending outwardly peripherally to form the flange 72. Said floor also contains at the underside thereof two recessed portions 73 and 74 adapted to receive therein the respective pilot pins 64 and 65. When said valve housing 21 is operatively placed upon the floor 55 of the chassis 17, with the said pins 64 and 65 operatively positioned within the said respective recesses 73 and 74, the said inlet aperture 70 will be positioned above and in alignment and communication with the said slot '60, the said outlet aperture 71 will be offset to the left with respect to said outlet slot 61, the said inlet passageway 66 will be offset to the right with respect to said inlet slot 60, and said outlet passageway 67 will be positioned below and in alignment and communication with said outlet slot 61. Thus, when the pump is not operating, the diaphragm acts as a closure for the inlet passageway 66 of the chassis floor 55 and for the outlet aperture 71 of the housing floor 69. It will be noted that the said inlet and outlet passageways 66 and 67, respectively, have their upper ports 66:: and 67a terminating in the upper plane of the chassis floor 55, whereby the plane of the diaphragm in its inoperative position is in the plane of said inlet and outlet ports.

The said housing 21 is maintained in pressing relation with the diaphragm 20 through the action of the locking ring 22 which is interengaged with the flange 72 of housing 21 and the spaced bayonet lugs 75, 76 and 77 combinatively forming a bayonet lock of known construction. The locking ring contains the lugs 78 positioned and proportioned for slidable engagement with the recessed portions 79 of said respective lugs 75, 76 and 77, whereby the ring 21 can be twisted into retractable locking position while bearing down upon the flange 72 of the housing 21. The said flange 72 is in engagement with the peripheral portion of the diaphragm valve 20, as clearly indicated in FIG. 4, whereby the diaphragm member is held pressed between said floors 55 and 69 in a flat plane, thereby enabling said diaphragm to serve the additional function of a gasket to prevent any leakage of air outwardly or inwardly with respect to the pump chamber 58.

In the operation of this device, when the bellows 23 is operatively pulled upwardly by the corresponding movement of the armature 24, air will be drawn through the said inlet aperture 32 of the base 16, into the chamber 34, and upwardly into the inlet passageway 66 in the floor 55 of the chassis. This is due to the fact that the suction within the chamber 58 will cause a lifting of that portion of the rubber diaphragm 20 defining said inlet slotted portion 60 upwardly out of the plane of the diaphragm disc and into the overlying inlet aperture 70 of the housing 21. The action is such that the opposite sections of the slotted portion 61 will be separated to permit air to be drawn upwardly into chamber 58, as clearly indicated in FIGS. 8 and 6a. At the same time the suction within chamber 58 creates a negative pressure within the outlet aperture 71 in the floor 69 of the housing 21, whereby the slotted portion 61 will be closed because the adjacent material of the diaphragm will be drawn against the underside of floor 69, as indicated in FIG. 8, thereby closing the discharge aperture 71. When the bellows 23 is operatively actuated downwardly, the slotted portion 60 will be pushed down against the upper surface of said floor 69 into the position shown in FIG. 9, thereby sealing off the inlet passageway 66. The said pressure, however, will force the slotted portion 61 out of the plane of the diaphragm disc into open position, as illustrated in FIG. 9, whereby air will be discharged outwardly through the passageway 67 as indicated by the arrows. In the embodiment illustrated, said passageway 67 communicates with said discharge pipe 59 which extends through the aperture 80' in the bearing 81, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 12.

The action above described is repeated at a rapid rate due to the vibratory action of the armature 24, thereby producing a continuous stream of air ejected through the discharge pipe 59.

In the above description, the invention has been disclosed merely by way of example and in preferred manner; but obviously many variations and modifications may be made therein. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not limited to any particular form or manner of practicing same.

I claim:

1. An air pump comprising an open-top housing having an annular Wall, an annular flange at the base thereof and a floor, a chassis having a floor in underlying supporting engagement with said housing, said floors having in registered relation respective inlet and outlet conduits, valve means comprising a thin disc of flexible elastic material with two spaced slotted portions constituting inlet and outlet orifices, said disc being positioned between said floors with said respective slotted portions in operative adjacent relation to said respective conduits, reciprocating pumping means having a bellows mounted over said housing and in communication with the upper open part thereof, reciprocating actuating means for said bellows, said chassis having a plurality of upwardly extending bayonet lugs, retractable locking means in releasable engagement with said housing and chassis for holding said floors thereof in pressing engagement, said locking means comprising a locking ring rotatably mounted over said annular wall and in rotatable engagement with said flange and having a plurality of lugs slidably interengaged with said bayonet lugs.

2. An air pump according to claim 1, said bellows having an upwardly extending dome, and a pivotally mounted reciprocating armature arm connected to said dome for imparting reciprocating pumping action thereto.

3. An air pump according to claim 2, said arm having at one end thereof a magnetic element, and AC. electromagnetic means for reciprocatingly actuating said element, whereby said armature arm and bellows will be correspondingly actuated.

4. An air pump according to claim 3, said chassis having at one end thereof a recessed portion in supporting engagement with said electromagnetic means, said chassis having at the other end an upstanding post in pivotal engagement with said armature arm.

5. An air pump according to claim 2, said dome being yieldably joined to said bellows and being yieldably tilted toward the pivotal mounting of said armature arm.

6. An air pump comprising a housing, separate inlet and outlet conduit means positioned for communication with the interior of said housing, valve means comprising a thin membranous disc of elastic material having two spaced slotted portions, one constituting an inlet valve portion in coactive relation to said inlet conduit means and the other an outlet valve portion in coactive relation to said outlet conduit means, reciprocating pumping means in communication with said housing and said conduit means for producing therein alternate operative conditions of suction and pressure, whereby during said conditions of suction said inlet valve portion will be operatively drawn into an open position with respect to said inlet conduit means and during said conditions of pressure said outlet valve will be operatively forced into an open position with respect to said outlet conduit means, thereby etfecting the cyclic operative drawing in of air into said housing and discharge of air therefrom, said pump having a chassis in supporting engagement with said disc and housing, said chassis and housing each having a floor, said inlet conduit means comprising an inlet aperture and an inlet passageway in said respective housing and chassis floors, said outlet conduit means comprising an outlet aperture and an outlet passageway in said respective housing and chassis floors, said disc being positioned between said respective floors with the said slotted portions of said respective inlet and outlet valves disposed between and in operative adjacent relation to said inlet aperture and inlet passageway and to said outlet aperture and outlet passageway, respectively, both of said floors being flat and in pressing engagement with said disc therebetween, said inlet aperture of said housing being of greater transverse proportions than said inlet passageway of said chassis, and said outlet passageway of said chassis being of greater transverse proportions than said outlet aperture of said housing, said slotted inlet valve portion of said disc being in registry with said inlet aperture and out of registry with said inlet passageway only when said inlet valve portion is in its said closed position, and said slotted outlet valve portion of said disc being in registry with said outlet passageway and out of registry with said outlet aperture only when said outlet valve portion is in its said closed position, said slotted inlet valve portion of the disc extending into said inlet aperture when in its operatively open position and said slotted outlet portion of the disc extending into said outlet passageway when in its operatively open position, said housing being laterally enclosed and open at the top, and retractable locking means in releasable engagement with said housing and chassis for holding the said respective floors thereof in pressing engagement, said reciprocating pumping means having a bellows in communication with the upper open part of said housing, and reciprocating actuating means for said bellows, said housing having an annular wall and an annular flange at the base thereof, said chassis floor having a plurality of upwardly extending bayonet lugs, said locking means comprising a locking ring rotatably mounted over said annular wall and References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,169,827 8/1939 Whitted l30150 2,809,589 10/1957 Randolph 103-53 ROBERT M. WALKER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 137--525 

